Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Velasquez was awarded a new grant in 2015 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Cancer treatments consisting of the infusion of T cells (one component of the patient's own immune system) that recognize CD19 (a molecule present on many blood cancers) have shown promise in early clinical studies. However, not all patients currently benefit from CD19-specific T-cell infusions. Dr. Velasquez's lab is conducting studies to optimize a new genetic approach with the ultimate goal of developing a clinical study to address this issue.

Many children with neuroblastoma die of their disease, and treatments sometimes cause lethal side-effects. Dr. Aguilar is studying a family of natural substances called sphingadienes, found in soybeans, that are able to kill colon, prostate and other cancer cell types. While initial studies indicate they may kill neuroblastoma cells too, this study is the first step in exploring sphingadienes as a new treatment option for children with neuroblastoma.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Allen-Rhoades was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer that affects children, adolescents and young adults. Patients have better survival if the cancer has not spread to other parts of the body. This project aims to develop a blood test that can detect the cancer and determine if it has spread to other areas. This test will be more sensitive and easier to use than current methods, and will ultimately help improve the survival of children with osteosarcoma.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Annesley, Tap Cancer Out St. Baldrick’s Fellow, was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant cancer of the white blood cells. Each year in the United States, approximately 10,000 adults and 1,000 children are diagnosed with AML. Only about 50% of these patients will be cured with current chemotherapy. Recently, mutations of genes have been shown to contribute to the development of AML, such as the FLT3/ITD mutation. Another mutation, Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) has been demonstrated in about 10% of patients with AML, but its effect on the development of leukemia is not well understood. WT1 and FLT3/ITD mutations can occur together, and patients with both mutations have dismal survival rates of 15%. This project attempts to prove that these two mutations can work together and may contribute to the formation of leukemia. It also attempts to show that mutations of WT1 cause cells to function abnormally, directly contributing to the development of leukemia. Early research shows that cells with WT1 mutations grow faster and more aggressively. Researchers have created the first model to study the interaction between FLT3/ITD and WT1 mutations. Ultimately, if WT1 mutations are shown to contribute to the formation of leukemia, the development of a drug that interferes with WT1 could improve cure rates in patients with AML. This grant recognizes the partnership with Tap Cancer Out, a jiu-jitsu based 501(c)(3) nonprofit raising awareness and funds for cancer fighting organizations on behalf of the grappling community.

Despite decades of research, children with glioblastoma multiforme (a type of brain cancer) rarely survive more than three years. This project is testing a new drug (CC11050) that might treat this type of cancer, and may lead to clinical trials in children with glioblastoma multiforme to improve cure rates.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Boston was awarded a new grant in 2015 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Studies show that a robust immune system improves survival of patients with cancer, which may explain why patients with the same cancer treatment have different outcomes. This project aims to find a treatment which can enhance the patient's immune system, potentially improving outcomes, by measuring immune system responses to chemotherapy, testing immune-enhancing drugs, and performing a clinical trial to determine whether these drugs are effective in enhancing the immune system in children with cancer. Awarded at UT M.D. Anderson and transferred to Our Lady of the Lake, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Baton Rouge Affiliate.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Breese was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. When a parent hears that their child has leukemia, one of the first questions doctors hear is, "Why?" Years of research on this question has shown that there are critical changes that happen in a cell that lead to the development of leukemia. Using new technology, this project is to recreate the genetic changes that play an important role in the development of many types of leukemia. This will help us to better understand why children develop cancer and to develop more focused therapies to improve our ability to cure childhood leukemias.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Ferguson was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Neurofibromatosis type I is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 100,000 people in the United States alone. Of children with this disease, 25-40% form slow growing tumors called plexiform neurofibromas. These tumors can cause disfigurement, disability, and even death, depending on their location. To date, there is no effective therapy to treat these tumors. This project is testing drugs, already developed by pharmaceutical companies, that block growth in other cancers, for plexiform neurofibromas. The purpose of this study is to find a life-saving treatment for children with these tumors.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Gowda was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. This project studies the regulation of the function of the Ikaros protein. The loss of function of the Ikaros protein is associated with the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that does not respond well to current therapies. Dr. Gowda is studying the way that Ikaros prevents the development of leukemia and to explain why the loss Ikaros activity leads to the development of leukemia. Thus, the results of this project will give insight into the mechanism of leukemia development. The more researchers learn about the way a cell changes to a cancer cell, the easier it will be to find new and more effective treatment options for patients with childhood leukemia.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Knoechel was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Approximately 15% of children with leukemia have a form known as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Current chemotherapy initially works very well in this type of ALL, however many of these patients have a recurrence early in their treatment. There are factors that are known to add to the development of a cancer and how well drugs work against it. These factors are known as chromatin regulators. Birgit Knoechel, M.D., Ph.D., Porter Dowling St. Baldrick's Fellow, is studying a chromatin regulator, BRD4, and how effective it is in reducing the drug resistance in T-cell ALL. These findings, along with a newly developed inhibitor that specifically targets BRD4, may provide a new approach to the treatment of T-cell ALL. This grant is named for Porter Dowling, in recognition for raising more than $1.2 million for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Moses was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Salinomycin, an antibiotic used in agriculture, has recently been shown to be highly effective against cancer stem cells, which are the resistant cells that contribute to relapse. This project aims to determine whether this antibiotic, in combination with standard treatment, can be used to effectively treat childhood brain cancers that develop resistance to standard treatment. The knowledge generated from this study will provide a new concept for treatment of brain tumors to achieve tumor eradication and potentially cure. Awarded at the University of Texas HSC San Antonio and transferred to the University of Virginia. This grant is made with generous support from the McKenna Claire Foundation established by the Wetzel family in memory of their daughter, McKenna. Their mission is to cure pediatric brain cancer by raising awareness, increasing community involvement and funding research.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Pinkney was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Kerice Pinkney, M.B.B.S., Gen Re St. Baldrick's Fellow, studies ATM, a protein that regulates the response of a cell when DNA is damaged. Mutation of ATM leads to increased breaks in DNA. This can then lead to chromosomal translocation, a process by which pieces of chromosomes are swapped. This can cause normal genes to combine together and lead to a new gene that can induce cancer. The goal of this project is to study how the protein ATM suppresses the translocation of chromosomes and therefore better understand the cause of pediatric cancers. This grant is named for the General Reinsurance (Gen Re) team, which has raised more than $1 million to date for lifesaving research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Awarded at Columbia University and transferred to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) makes up 15% of childhood leukemia. There is a protein inside the cancer cells of patients with T-ALL that helps the cancer cells grow. Dr. Richard aims to decrease the amount of this protein so it cannot stimulate the cancer cells to grow. This will help to develop better treatments for children with T-cell leukemia.

The concept of resilience implies an ability to withstand stress after a significant crisis. While there are several theories of resilience, there is little consensus about how to define it or, more importantly, how to promote it. Cancer in children and adolescents can pose daunting challenges for patients as well as their families. This study explores a novel model of resilience among adolescents and parents of children with cancer. Promoting resilience during and after childhood cancer will promote more positive psychosocial outcomes and ultimately enable better family-level survivorship.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Schultz was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a subtype of pediatric leukemia, has poor long-term outcomes, making it important to develop new treatments. Markit St. Baldrick's Fellow Dr. Liora Schultz's research focuses on taking advantage of the immune system to fight cancer. Cancer cells often go unrecognized by the immune system, and Dr. Schultz aims to genetically engineer immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, and ultimately translate this technique to the clinic to treat pediatric patients with AML. Awarded at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and transferred to Stanford University. This grant is named for Markit, Ltd., whose 24-hour head-shaving events worldwide have raised over $1 million to fund life-saving research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Davis was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Spread of tumor cells from their original site to distant areas (metastasis) is the most deadly aspect of cancer, and often occurs through lymphatic vessels. New vessels can grow around tumors to facilitate spread. To prevent this, we must understand why new vessels form, and the design that allows tumor cells to travel. Dr. Davis is studying etsrp, a protein believed to control lymphatic growth, which is therefore a novel therapeutic target for preventing metastasis in childhood cancer.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Wu was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Dr. Wu studies a kind of blood cancer called ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), one of the most common types of childhood cancer. One of the main treatments for ALL is steroid therapy - not the steroids you take for bodybuilding, but the steroids you take if your asthma or your "bad back" is getting worse. This research is to understand why steroid treatment sometimes does not work in ALL. The main goal is to improve steroid treatment, to cure more patients. This additional grant is named for Tap Cancer Out and recognizes the partnership with the jiu-jitsu based 501(c)(3) nonprofit who raises awareness and funds for cancer fighting organizations on behalf of the grappling community. The original grant was named for Dr. Jeffrey Lipton in recognition of his tenure on the Board of Directors and in honor of his leadership, support and advocacy for childhood cancer research.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Davis was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Cancer affects teenagers and young adults more often than young children, but these in-between aged people have lower survival rates than yonger children. There aren't many doctors that specialize in treating these patients, but that is exactly what Dr. Davis is training to do. As part of this training, she is studying a bone cancer that occurs in teens. This same cancer affects pet dogs, too. She is testing drugs in a lab to see which ones kill the most tumor cells and then investigatimg why they work, in hopes that it will help both kids and dogs with this tumor live longer.

Adaptive cell therapy involves engineering the body's own immune cells, called T-cells, to fight cancer. The T-cells are engineered to target a protein which is present only in the cancer cells, but not in normal cells. One such protein, WT-1 is expressed only in leukemia cells and has proven to be an effective target, for a specific type of T cells called CD8 T-cells. However, these CD8 T-cells do not persist and leukemias recur. Dr. Anur Praveen, PartnerRe St. Baldrick's Fellow, is studying whether another type of T-cells called CD4 T-cells alone can eradicate leukemia or these CD4 T cells can help the CD8 T-cells to last longer and fight leukemia without recurrence. This grant is named for PartnerRe, a global reinsurance company who has raised over $1 million to fund childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Batra was awarded a new grant in 2013 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Neuroblastoma (NB) is a cancer that affects children and infants and cure rates are 40-50% range for high-risk NB. Fortunately, this disease is exquisitely sensitive to radiation. MIBG, a compound similar to adrenaline, has been shown to be effective for treating bulk disease, but is not able to destroy cancer cells that are widely distributed. This project focuses on an innovative method to circumvent this problem by designing an "alpha-emitting" radioisotope called 211At MABG. Alpha particles, which have been much more difficult to design as medicines, have the major advantage of much higher radiation energy and a much shorter range of action, so that they will kill the cells that take it up. This will be a major milestone in neuroblastoma therapy and provide a novel targeted radiotherapeutic approach to pediatric cancer.